nickel

nickel nurser

A niggardly, stingy person; a penny pincher. Primarily heard in US. I used to hate going out to restaurants with my ex-girlfriend. She was such a nickel nurser that we'd never get anything nice to eat, and she always refused to leave a tip.

not have two nickels to rub together

To be extremely poor; to have very little or no money to spend. Primarily heard in US. During college, when I didn't have two nickels to rub together, I survived off of ramen noodles for months at a time.They used to be so well off, but the economy crashed and their business closed, and they don't have two nickels to rub together anymore.

be not worth a plug nickel

obsolete To be completely worthless or useless; to have little or no value. (A variant of "not worth a plugged nickel.") Refers to coins (not only nickels) that were "plugged"—that is, those that had a hole drilled in their center and were filled with cheaper metals—which made the coins illegitimate and worthless if spotted. Primarily heard in US. I was so excited when my grandpa said he'd give me his car, but this old clunker isn't worth a plug nickel.Over the years working here I've come to realize that the boss's promises aren't worth a plug nickel.

not worth a plug nickel

obsolete Completely worthless or useless; having little or no value. (A variant of "not worth a plugged nickel.") Refers to coins (not only nickels) that were "plugged"—that is, those that had a hole drilled in their center and were filled with cheaper metals—which made the coins illegitimate and worthless if spotted. Primarily heard in US. I was so excited when my grandpa said he'd give me his car, but this old clunker isn't worth a plug nickel.Over the years working here I've come to realize that the boss's promises aren't worth a plug nickel.

nickel and dime (someone) to death

To assess costs or fees in enough small amounts that it adds up to a substantial sum. Between the increases in property tax, sales tax, and income tax, I feel like the government is trying nickel and dime us to death.That phone company is nickel and diming their customers to death with all those fees.

not have two pennies to rub together

To be extremely poor; to have very little or no money to spend. During college, when I didn't have two pennies to rub together, I survived off of ramen noodles for months at a time.They used to be so well off, but after the economy crashed and their business closed, they don't have two pennies to rub together anymore.

don't take any wooden nickels

Take care and, specifically, try not to get swindled. The phrase is thought to have originated in the early 20th century when country residents visiting the city were considered easily duped. Primarily heard in US. Have fun tonight and don't take any wooden nickels!

nickel and dime (one)

To assess costs or fees in enough small amounts that it adds up to a substantial sum. Between the increases in property tax, sales tax, and income tax, I feel like the government is constantly trying to nickel and dime us.My phone company has been nickel and diming me for years.

nickel-and-dime

To assess costs or fees in enough small amounts that it adds up to a substantial sum. Between the increases in property tax, sales tax, and income tax, I feel like the government is trying nickel-and-dime us to death.That phone company is nickel-and-diming their customers with all those fees.

not worth a damn

Having no value or integrity; worthless. The company offered vouchers to its employees, but they aren't worth a damn.My brother gave me his old laptop, but it's not worth a damn anymore.

nickel-and-dime someone(to death)

Fig. to make numerous small monetary charges that add up to a substantial sum. Those contractors nickel-and-dimed me to death.Just give me the whole bill at one time. Don't nickel-and-dime me for days on end.

not worth a damn

Inf. worthless. This pen is not worth a damn.When it comes to keeping score, she's not worth a damn.

not worth a damn

Also, not worth a plugged nickel or red cent or bean or hill of beans or fig or straw or tinker's damn . Worthless, as in That car isn't worth a damn, or My new tennis racket is not worth a plugged nickel. As for the nouns here, a damn or curse is clearly of no great value (also see not give a damn); a plugged nickel in the 1800s referred to a debased five-cent coin; a cent denotes the smallest American coin, which was red when made of pure copper (1800s); a bean has been considered trivial or worthless since the late 1300s (Chaucer so used it), whereas hill of beans alludes to a planting method whereby four or five beans are put in a mound (and still are worthless); and both fig and straw have been items of no worth since about 1400. A tinker's dam, first recorded in 1877, was a wall of dough raised around a spot where a metal pipe is being repaired so as to hold solder in place until it hardens, whereupon the dam is discarded. However, tinker's damn was first recorded in 1839 and probably was merely an intensification of "not worth a damn," rather than having anything to do with the dam.

nickel and dime

AMERICAN

1. If you describe something as nickel and dime, you mean that it is not important or serious, or involves only small amounts of money. Note: A nickel is a five cent coin and a dime is a ten cent coin. I want to keep the campaign on the issues that matter. I'm not interested in that nickel and dime stuff.Some claim the company's nickel-and-dime charges are driving away sellers of inexpensive items. Note: You can also say nickel-dime with the same meaning. It's nickel-dime stuff, though, compared to what you and Michael have to deal with.

2. If someone nickels and dimes someone or something, they harm them by continually taking small amounts of money away from them, or by continually making small changes or requests. Note: A nickel is a five cent coin and a dime is a ten cent coin. The claims aren't huge but there are a lot of them and it all adds up. We're getting nickeled and dimed to death.

a wooden nickel

AMERICAN

If you call something a wooden nickel, you mean that it is completely false or has no value. Note: A nickel is a five cent coin and a dime is a ten cent coin. He looked at the card as though it were a wooden nickel. `That doesn't prove a thing,' he said.

not have two pennies to rub together

or

not have two nickels to rub together

AMERICAN

If someone doesn't have two pennies to rub together, they are poor. My parents had just married and they didn't have two pennies to rub together.He didn't have two nickels to rub together when he got here. I think he's done pretty well for himself. Note: In old-fashioned English, you can say that someone doesn't have two brass farthings to rub together or doesn't have two halfpennies to rub together. There I was — a really good skier with loads of potential and I didn't have two brass farthings to rub together. Note: You can use other nouns in similar structures when you mean that someone or something has none or very little of a particular quality. He's useless — he hasn't got two brain cells to rub together.

ˌnickel-and-ˈdime

involving only a small amount of money; not important: I’m going to make serious money this time. No more no nickel-and-dime stuff for me. ▶ ˌnickel-and-ˈdime verb charge many small fees which add up to a large amount in total: Unlike other companies, we charge a flat fee so we won’t nickel-and-dime you to death.

don’t take any wooden ˈnickels

(American English) used when saying goodbye to somebody to mean ‘be careful’, ‘take care of yourself’: Well, see you around Tom. Don’t take any wooden nickels.

double nickels

and double buffalo

n. the number fifty-five; the fifty-five-mile-per-hour speed limit. (Originally citizens band radio. The buffalo is on one side of the nickel.) You’d better travel right on those double nickels in through here. The bears are hungry. Double buffalo is for trucks. You can go seventy.

not worth a plugged nickel

Don't take any wooden nickels

Don't let yourself be cheated. This expression was first heard in the early 20th century. Although there never were any wooden nickels as legal tender, country folk going to a city were likely to be cheated by all manner of ruses, including obviously counterfeit coins. Wooden nickels did exist, however, as bank promotions during and after the Great Depression; the “coins” were redeemable for prizes.

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.